Her Compound Drama
by Hiei-Touya-icedemon
Summary: Part three of the compound drama series- this time a look through Sakura's eyes at the world they live in now.


For Sakura, the weeks these days always seemed to slip by

For Sakura, the weeks these days always seemed to slip by. There used to be a time when she could never predict what was going to happen next, when every day was a different adventure.

And then Sasuke left.

Sakura's world had been pitched into a whirl of madness, despair, and worry. She'd stayed in her room for weeks, only coming out when Naruto and the others finally returned.

Sakura had then grown obsesses with her training, having practice battles with Ino every day until she finally became a Chunin. Her medical skills grew quickly, and just when everything was beginning to settle down a bit, Naruto came back from a mission in the Sand. But that wasn't the problem.

He had Sasuke.

Kicking and screaming all through interrogation (which had, sadly, proved fruitless), Sasuke was eerily silent through captivation. He let no one touch him, even during his medical exams. Poor Hinata had eventually had to call in Sakura herself to help her examine the Uchiha.

And then team 7 had convinced Tsunade to allow Sasuke under house arrest. Naruto had complained about Sasuke's lack of gratitude, but Sakura could tell in the boy's allowance of examination that he was thankful.

But now, life was simple and uneventful. Each of the teams had unspoken duties, jobs they did without suggestion, day in and day out.

Kakashi remained a Jonin, oftentimes departing for missions and leaving Sakura in charge while he was gone. This was how they pulled in money for groceries and other necessities. Kakashi was also the one who chased after Sasuke when he tried to run away.

Naruto had many of the same duties as Kakashi. He went on missions (though fewer in amount than his teacher) and on occasion would go after Sasuke. He, however, was prone to playing tricks on the poor Uchiha, and getting into trouble, sometimes MAJOR trouble with Kakashi, afterwards. A perfect example was when he slipped large amounts of sake into Sasuke's drink. The poor boy had been throwing up nearly all morning the next day. Naruto wasn't much better off, once Kakashi was finished with him.

Sasuke usually sat in his room all day, except for when it came to meals and running away. He pretended to be emotionless, but on one occasion, Sakura had walked past his door to hear very faint sobs. Sasuke sometimes talked to Sakura, and on his good days, might help her make dinner or lunch. Never breakfast, though, as he was _not_ a morning person.

Sakura was basically the big sister of the team; settling fights between Naruto and Sasuke, taking care of any injuries the boys got in the process, and calming Sasuke down after having been chewed up by Kakashi post-running away. She cleaned, cooked, and shopped for groceries. She also went on the occasional mission, but only when necessary.

And so here she was, walking along the streets of Konoha, about five bags of groceries precariously placed in her open arms, wishing Sasuke was allowed to help her. But alas, even if he was, the boy was in his rooms at the compound, he and Naruto both grounded for a day for fighting.

Just then, a mango Sakura had been holding slipped out of one of the grocery bags. Arms full, Sakura could only watch as it fell…

…straight into Ino's hand.

Sakura smiled. "You know, you have very good timing"

"I know" Ino said, taking a bite out of the mango. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You know, that was for the compound" Ino shrugged.

"I know" she repeated. Sakura sighed.

"Well, while you're here, help me carry these groceries, will you?" Ino nodded and took two of the bags into her arms.

Sakura wobbled as the two girls began to make their way up the stairs to the compound. Sakura took a glance at Ino. She'd changed a lot since their Genin days.

It used to be that Ino hated putting her now-short hair down. She'd always kept it up in a bun. But once she'd started seeing Shikamaru, she'd begun to let it down. This softened up her features considerably, and refreshed her "warm" look from when they were children. Ino had become a Chunin, but did not wear the vest, taking after Kurenai, as on her missions, she blended in better without it.

Once they reached the door to the compound, Ino nearly kicking the door down, Kakashi opened it for them. He grinned (or at least, Sakura _thought_ he grinned, you never could tell with that mask…) when he saw Ino, and led them in.

"They're in their rooms, if you need to talk to them" Sakura nodded.

"Be right back" she said to Ino, and put the groceries down, heading off to Sasuke's room.

-xxxxxxxxxx-

"Sas'?"

Sasuke looked up. Sakura was standing in his doorway.

"You're back" It was not a question, but a statement.

"I am" This, too, was a statement.

Sasuke kicked his nightstand.

"Stupid Naruto" Sakura sighed.

"It wasn't all Naruto's fault you know"

"Well, if he wasn't so thick-headed…"

"Sasuke" Sakura interrupted, sitting down on his bed. "_You_ were the one who threw the first punch"

"Yeah, but-"

"I'm not finished yet. Yes, Naruto was the one who insulted you. But _you _socked him in the jaw, Sasuke!" Sasuke was silent for a few moments following that statement.

"Stupid Naruto" he muttered once more, looking down at the ground. Sakura sighed. She wanted to speak with him some more, but she had to get to Naruto. Taking one last look back at the lone Uchiha, she left.

-xxxxxxxxxx-

"Hey" Sakura said as she entered Naruto's room. The fox-boy looked up and glared at her from his bed.

"It's not fair" he stated plainly, crossing his arms. Sakura sighed.

"You called him a _traitor_, Naruto"

"Well, he _is_!"

"And you know perfectly well it's been a year since he came back! It pisses him off, and rightly so" Naruto turned his head.

"Still isn't fair" he muttered. Sakura sighed again and sat down on his bed with him, not saying anything, just letting Naruto heal.

Even at sixteen, Naruto had very much maintained his boyhood. His room was spattered in bright colors, so much so that Sasuke purposely made a habit of walking past it and not looking, lest he cringe. The walls were orange; the carpet was tan but invisible under the many blue and yellow throw rugs and red beanbag chairs spread across the room. Naruto's pillows were yellow and his sheets blue, but he did manage to maintain to seriousness in this bright room of his.

Dozens of scrolls were piled about, stacked on top of beanbag chairs and poking out of drawers. Sakura knew not to open Naruto's closet, lest several giant scrolls fall and probably crush her. There were so many kunai and shuriken littered across the floor that Naruto had taken to setting out the beanbags like jumping stones so he could cross to the other side of the room. Sakura almost didn't know how Naruto could live there.

An indiscernible sound came from Naruto, and Sakura looked at him. He squirmed a bit, and then said:

"Sorry about Sasuke" Sakura smiled.

"Thanks" she said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. Naruto grinned.

"That's more than you're gonna get out of Sasuke" Sakura snorted.

"Please. All I got out of him was "Stupid Naruto"" Naruto raised his eyebrows.

"So can I leave now?" he looked up at her with pleading eyes. Sakura stood up to leave, and turned back to him for a moment.

"No"

-xxxxxxxxxx-

By the time Sakura finally got back to the kitchen, Ino was already unloading groceries from the bags and loading them into their proper places. Sakura smiled slightly and joined her, rearranging the pantry to be able to fit the dozens of packs of ramen. The girls worked in silence for a while. No words were needed, as each knew exactly what the other was thinking. Finally, Ino put away the last loaf of bread, and the two teenage girls could relax.

Sakura then took a seat at the table, burying her face in her hands and sighing. Ino just shook her head and hopped onto the countertop. There was silence for a while.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself, Sakura. You'll kill yourself"

Sakura's head rose from her hands as she looked at Ino.

"I know" she finally muttered, putting her hands down as she stared at a most likely random spot on the wall.

"What are you going to do?" No response. "Sakura, you can't go on like this. You're going to drive yourself mad" Finally, Sakura's eyes were finally drawn away from the wall and onto her lap as she picked at a nonexistent string on her skirt.

"I'm fine. I just need to think"

"What you need is a break" Sakura actually laughed.

"A break?" she asked. "Do you know what'll happen if I leave?"

"I'm sure Kakashi can handle it" Ino said with a raised eyebrow. Sakura laughed again, though this time it was short.

"Kakashi can handle _most_ of it" Sakura said, shaking her head. "But the parts after; the hysteria, the drama; that kind of stuff is what _I'm _good at"

"So you're willing to risk your sanity?" Sakura sighed.

"That's what being teammates is about, isn't it?"

Ino was silenced with that one. She thought about her own team; the insanity of Chouji and his eating habits and how far ahead of all of them Shikamaru was. If one of them was in Sasuke's place, would Ino sacrifice her own sanity for them?

The answer was instantaneous; she'd do anything in her power to keep them sane themselves, not matter the cost.

"You _still_ need a break" Sakura sighed.

"I know"

Silence.

"You know, Shikamaru and I were going to go to this awesome restraint tonight, but he got pulled for an ANBU mission. I had reservations, and it'd be a shame to waste them…"

"Spit it out Ino"

"Would _you_ like to go?"

Sakura looked up. Ino was willing to waste her dinner reservations just to give Sakura a break?

"Why?"

"Because you're my _friend_, Sakura, and I can't understand what you're going through. I can try to imagine it, I can put it to my own experiences, but I will never _truly_ understand what you're going through. What I _do_ understand is that you need a break, and I have an opportunity to give you one. And if that's the only way I can figure out how to help you, than I'm sure as hell gonna do it. Is that okay with you?"

Sakura was stunned. She'd been so caught up in her own troubles, in her problems with Sasuke, that she'd failed to notice Ino and herself regaining the friendship they'd once had. Perhaps life wasn't so uneventful, after all.

"So are you in or not?"

Sakura looked up, interrupted in her thoughts, to see Ino looking down at her in expectation. Sakura's answer was instantaneous.

"Yes"

-xxxxxxxxxx-

Sakura skipped as she laughed at a joke Ino had just told. At sixteen, Kunoichi rarely had times where they could be carefree and playful, particularly when they were former teammates with the village traitor (for proof, look at Tsunade), so that had to cherish the moments while they lasted.

Dinner had been simple but filling; Ino ordering the ramen while Sakura, unable even to _look_ at ramen after living with Naruto for a year, had ordered sushi. They were now taking a walk about Konoha, unwilling to allow "girls night out" to end.

"You know, Ino," Sakura said as their skipping slowed to a walk.

"Hm?" Ino asked, looking up.

"I don't think I've been in such a good mood in a long time"

"Told you" Ino said, whacking her friend on the arm. "You just needed a break from all your compound drama" Sakura suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Say that again" she commanded. Startled, Ino turned around.

"What? You needed a break?"

"No. The last part"

"Oh. Your compound drama?"

"Yeah" Sakura muttered. "My compound drama" She was quiet for a while after that. Then her face broke out into a grin.

"My compound drama!" she repeated, this time in a much fuller tone. "My compound drama!"

"Uh… Are you okay, Sakura?" Ino asked, her face growing nervous.

"I'm fine!" Sakura said, laughing as she started walking again. "My compound dramas are all fine!" Finally, Ino laughed as well, following Sakura's lead, back to the house, back to the compound.

Back to her compound drama.


End file.
